


To catch a thief

by birman



Category: VIXX
Genre: M/M, some mention of blood in one or two of the chapters, some violence, vixx - au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-30
Updated: 2019-07-30
Packaged: 2020-07-27 05:35:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20040766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/birman/pseuds/birman
Summary: please note: this is an old fic I had uploaded here on ao3 some time ago under the pseud myridiel, and then taken down once I had basically left the vixx/kpop fandom and was not longer interested in keeping them up.I’m re-uploading all my vixx fics because… I don’t know, someone might feel like reading them I guess? lol, anyway have fun if you do ;)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> please note: this is an old fic I had uploaded here on ao3 some time ago under the pseud myridiel, and then taken down once I had basically left the vixx/kpop fandom and was not longer interested in keeping them up.  
I’m re-uploading all my vixx fics because… I don’t know, someone might feel like reading them I guess? lol, anyway have fun if you do ;)

Hakyeon gulped down his third shot of tequila and made a face as it went down, burning his throat.  
“Shitty day?” asked the barman as he refilled his glass once more.  
“You can say that.” Hakyeon replied, mouth twisted and eyes squeezed shut.

“You should go easy on that.”  
Hakyeon glared to his left where the words had come from: “None of your business.”  
“You’re right.” said the stranger.  
Hakyeon squinted his eyes a little and took a better look at the man: smirking, small but full lips clearly teasing him were all he could see for a moment.  
His gaze shifted to a pair of equally amused dark eyes, almost feline in their shape.  
He blinked, trying to get all of him in his almost-blurred vision: longish black hair brushing the base of his neck and tied up in a half-ponytail at the back, straight nose and broad, _really_ broad shoulders. Breathtaking.

Hakyeon licked his lips and played with his empty glass: “And… what’s in it for me if I stop drinking?” he purred, looking at the other man in what he hoped still was a flirty gaze even in his intoxicated state.  
The stranger laughed softly: “It depends. I can think of at least a couple of ways to reward you, if you ever were interested.”  
Hakyeon grinned and slid off his stool. He waited a couple of seconds to avoid any embarrassing stumbling, then made for the exit.

The cold air outside hit him in the face. Hakyeon took a deep breath that helped him clear his mind a little.  
He felt the other man’s warm body behind him. He turned and stared at those dark eyes, and whatever was left of his common sense left for good.  
He grabbed the stranger’s wrist and pulled him along the empty street, right into the first dark alley he could find.

He pushed the other man against the wall and kissed him hard.  
The stranger parted his lips eagerly when Hakyeon pressed the tip of his tongue against his mouth, deepening their kiss, heavy breaths turning quickly into muffled groans and pants.  
Hakyeon let his hand travel along the lines of the other’s flat stomach and further down, over his jeans.  
He felt his erection under his fingertips and a moan in his mouth, but the stranger suddenly grabbed his shoulders and flipped them over, pressing him against the wall.  
He smirked, then dipped his head to kiss and suck at Hakyeon’s neck, one of his legs slipping between Hakyeon’s. He rolled his hips and both men hissed as their hard-ons pressed against each other’s thigh, trapped in their pants.

“Not… here.” panted Hakyeon.  
The stranger licked his lips and nodded, stepping back to give the other man some room.  
Before they walked out of the alley, Hakyeon grabbed the stranger’s arm: “I’m Hakyeon.”  
Burning dark eyes stared at him for a couple of seconds: “Taekwoon.”

They slipped into a taxi and Taekwoon gave the driver the address of a nearby hotel.

\-------------------

Hakyeon opened his eyes as daylight filtered through the curtains of the hotel room and checked his watch: 8am.  
He stretched his limbs and sat on the bed, looking around. He was alone, not surprisingly.

He got up, feeling pleasantly sore all over, and padded to the bathroom to take a shower. He looked at himself in the mirror and smiled upon seeing the many hickeys and bite marks on his chest and arms.  
It looked like Taekwoon wasn’t an ass and knew better than leave marks where he would be forced to cover them up.

As the water washed over him, Hakyeon thought back to the previous night. He had really needed a way to unwind after a horrible day at work, and what happened with Taekwoon had been, even if risky, enjoyable and satisfying. _Very_ satisfying.

When he was ready, he checked his belongings and nodded when he found that nothing was missing (Taekwoon hadn’t seemed a bad guy, but better safe than sorry).  
He called a taxi to take him back to last night’s bar since that was where his car was.

He got in and drove home to get his gun and badge before heading to the police station and begin a new day at work.

Hakyeon’s day was definitely better today, his ‘escapade’ of the previous night served its purpose at least, and even his boss left him alone.  
As he left the station at the end of his shift though, he couldn’t help but think about Taekwoon.  
He had been thinking about him all day in fact.

It was 10pm. He made up his mind and drove to last night’s bar.   
When he got there, he sat in his car, brows furrowed, thinking. What was he expecting? Would he even be here? What if he did see him, but he was with someone else? Would he even acknowledge him? It had been just a one-night stand after all.

But those eyes… Hakyeon could feel them burning all over his skin even now.  
He sighed and got off the vehicle, taking long strides to the bar before his resolve would crumble.  
The air inside was heavier with smoke, and the place was definitely more crowded than the night before. Hakyeon climbed on a stool and ordered a soda. He scanned the room, but didn’t see him. “Of course,” he thought as he took a sip of his drink, “what was I hoping?”

As he was about to ask the bartender if he’d seen someone who matched Taekwoon’s description, he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand.  
You definitely learn to listen to your instincts when you’re a policeman, and Hakyeon knew that.  
He looked over his shoulder and, sure as hell, there he was, sitting at the back of the room looking straight at him with that damned smirk on his face.

Hakyeon walked over and sat down on the chair in front of the other man.  
“Hakyeon.” Taekwoon greeted him with that soft voice of his and still a hint of a smile on his lips and in his eyes.  
“Taekwoon. I wanted to say ‘what a coincidence’ but… I’m not good at lying.” Hakyeon smiled, a bit embarrassed.  
“Do you… want to get out of here?” Taekwoon asked, a tinge of pink on his cheeks.  
“Sure.”

They walked aimlessly down the street, shoulders bumping against each other as they went.  
“Are you a regular at that bar?” Hakyeon asked, stealing a glance at the man beside him.  
The taller man shrugged: “No. Last night was my first time there.”  
“Oh. But you came back tonight.”  
Taekwoon’s lips curled up in a small smile before he hung his head low, clearly embarrassed: “I was hoping you’d show up, actually.”  
Hakyeon couldn’t stop the grin that spread on his face: “I…” he let out a low chuckle, “me too.”

They stopped briefly to get some coffee to go, then headed back to where they came from.  
“Would you like - Taekwoon began, looking at his feet - to go out together? Lunch, or maybe dinner?”  
“And start this all over? Properly?” Hakyeon smiled.  
“Hmm-mm.”  
Hakyeon hooked his index finger with Taekwoon’s, and, like this, they walked to his car.

They exchanged phone numbers and, before Hakyeon could get in his car, Taekwoon pulled him close and kissed him softly on the lips, a little hesitantly .  
“Goodnight. See you tomorrow.”

Hakyeon had barely locked the door behind him after he reached his place that his phone dinged with an incoming text. All it said was the name of a restaurant and a time for the following evening, and Hakyeon grinned like a teenager as he immediately replied with ‘ok~’ followed by a smiley.

\-------------------

Hakyeon cursed as he jumped out of his car, locked it and ran towards the restaurant.  
He pushed the door open and frantically searched the room for Taekwoon: he smiled as he found him in the far corner, already looking at him with a smile on his lips.

He sighed as he sat down heavily in his chair: “I’m really sorry I’m late... work… I was scared you’d left.”  
He began relaxing when he saw that Taekwoon was still smiling at him, relief clearly showing in his eyes. His hair was pulled back in a ponytail tonight, a few strands escaping and framing his beautiful face on both sides.   
Not for the first time since he met him, Hakyeon thought he was breathtaking. He had to stop himself from leaning in and kissing him: he should save that for later on, when they wouldn’t be in public. He wasn’t that sure he could be satisfied with just one kiss anyway.

The waiter took their orders a few minutes later and brought them two glasses of red wine.  
“Another bad day?” Taekwoon asked softly.  
Hakyeon took a sip of his wine and hummed in appreciation before replying: “Not as much a bad day as a very long one. Lots of troublemakers today.”  
Taekwoon raised an eyebrow, curious: “Troublemakers? What kind of job do you have?”  
Hakyeon smiled: “Promise you won’t run away? I’m a policeman.”  
There was a loud clank as Taekwoon’s fork fell on the floor.  
“I’m sorry, I guess I am a bit nervous tonight after all.” he smiled apologetically.  
“For a moment I thought I scared you.”  
“Just… surprised.” he murmured, before smirking and adding: “You’d be the only policeman I let handcuff me.”  
Hakyeon silently thanked the waiter that brought their food at that time, because the way Taekwoon said that last sentence made him blush.

“Now you know what I do for a living, but what do you do?”  
“Nothing as exciting. I own a small antique shop.”  
“Oh? You should be careful, someone stole an old brooch a few nights ago. Rubies and diamonds, very valuable.”  
“I don’t deal with such expensive merchandise.” Taekwoon said, chewing slowly on his steak, eyes fixed on Hakyeon.  
“Well, you can never go wrong with being cautious. Especially since we have no fucking clue as to who did it.”  
“Is this why you were in a bad mood the other night?”  
“What? ...oh, no, not this.” Hakyeon sighed. “You might have heard it on the news, that girl who was murdered?”  
Taekwoon nodded in silence.  
“I can’t really tell you much because we’re still investigating but… I believe that whoever did that to her… well, let’s say I don’t think it was the first time it happened. But my boss thinks otherwise.”  
“Then you’re the one who should be careful.” Taekwoon covered Hakyeon’s hand with his own, and squeezed it: “No more talking about work tonight.”

They finished their dinner and paid, then headed out.  
“Feels… a bit weird, doesn’t it?” Hakyeon laughed softly, a bit embarrassed, as they reached his car.  
“What does?” replied Taekwoon. His hand came up to caress Hakyeon’s arm lightly, his gaze fixed on the other man’s face.  
“Tonight. I mean… not bad weird. But after the other night…” he bit his lower lip, looking at anywhere but at the man in front of him.  
Taekwoon leaned forward and bumped their noses together, lips brushing against Hakyeon’s: “After the other night I couldn’t think of anything else but you. And even now all I want is to be alone with you, Hakyeon.”

Hakyeon’s breath caught: “Yes.”   
Taekwoon kissed him softly, and Hakyeon sighed when he pulled back.   
“My place or yours?” he asked still a little breathless as Taekwoon placed light kisses along his jaw.  
“Mine?” Taekwoon whispered, looking Hakyeon in the eye. “I hope you don’t work too early in the morning,” he went on, smirking, “I mean to take it a lot slower this time.”  
Hakyeon smiled and pushed him away weakly: “Get in the car, smartass.”


	2. Chapter 2

Taekwoon lived in a quiet residential area, yet not far from a very renowned shopping street and its bustling life.  
His apartment was clean and simple in the choice of furniture, the total opposite of Hakyeon’s, always so messy and full of unnecessary stuff.

Hakyeon was standing in front of the large window of the living room. They were on the 9th floor, and the night view of the city below them was mesmerizing.  
He felt a pair of arms circling his waist, and Taekwoon’s chin resting on his shoulder.  
“I like this place. It’s so calm here.” Hakyeon whispered as he placed his hands over Taekwoon’s.  
He turned around and kissed the man in front of him, lips and tongues moving slowly, teeth scraping lips lightly.

“We’re not going too fast, are we?” Taekwoon breathed as he kissed the corners of Hakyeon’s mouth.  
Hakyeon laughed softly: “I dragged you into a dark alley after exchanging barely two words, and then we fucked like rabbits all night… I think it’s a bit too late to worry about going too fast, don’t you think?”  
Taekwoon looked away, the hint of a smile on his lips: “I guess…”

“By the way,” he added, looking back at Hakyeon “about the other night… I don’t usually do…”  
“Me neither. But I don’t regret it.”  
Taekwoon smiled and Hakyeon kissed him. He placed his palms on the other man’s chest and pushed him gently, guiding him backwards in the direction of the sofa.  
“No.” Taekwoon shook his head and pulled him close, moving to his right. “Bedroom.”

Hakyeon grinned and put his hands under his lover’s shirt, pulling it up and over his head. He slid it off Taekwoon’s arms and threw it on the floor.  
“I’m going to top this time.” he purred against Taekwoon’s neck.  
The other man shivered and grabbed Hakyeon’s black shirt, pulling it out of his black denims. He slowly unbuttoned it, brushing his fingers on Hakyeon’s golden skin as he went.

Taekwoon pushed the shirt down Hakyeon’s shoulders and let it fall on the floor. He leaned in and kissed him deeply before leaving a trail of open-mouthed kisses along his neck and shoulder, sucking on his collarbone.  
“Are you sure?” Taekwoon grinned as he nibbled at Hakyeon’s skin. His hands moved over Hakyeon’s sides and rested on his firm ass, squeezing. That made Hakyeon’s hips jerk forward and grind against Taekwoon’s erection.  
“Damn… fine.” He moaned as Taekwoon kept biting and sucking on his skin. “Next time then.”  
Taekwoon chuckled and pushed him into his bedroom.

\-------------------

“Hmmm…”  
Taekwoon opened his eyes and focused on the source of the noise in front of him: Hakyeon had been sighing in his sleep, but now his breath was back to peaceful.   
Taekwoon gently touched his cheek then wrapped his arm around his waist, pulling him close.

“Hmmm… feels good.” Hakyeon murmured as he snuggled against Taekwoon’s chest, his lover’s fingers lazily moving up and down his spine.  
“I need to get up soon.” he sighed. Taekwoon tightened his hold around Hakyeon’s waist: “No.”  
Hakyeon chuckled and placed a sloppy kiss on Taekwoon’s lips before rolling out of bed.  
“I’m going to use your shower.” he said, not bothering to cover up as he walked to the bathroom.  
Taekwoon heard the toilet flush and then the water run in the shower. He stretched his long limbs and got up.

Hakyeon turned around when he heard the door of the shower box open, and grinned. Taekwoon stepped in and kissed him, pressing Hakyeon against the tiled wall.  
“Turn around.” Taekwoon ordered him when they broke the kiss. Hakyeon obeyed and faced the wall, his arms placed over his head to steady himself, forehead resting on them.

Taekwoon let his hands roam slowly on Hakyeon’s chest, his sides and flat stomach. He began placing small, hot kisses at the back of Hakyeon’s neck and along his spine, moving lower past his shoulder blades.  
Hakyeon hissed and arched his back: “Haven’t you gotten enough last night?” he breathed out, looking over his shoulder with a grin.  
Taekwoon covered Hakyeon’s back with his body and kissed him, his erection pressing against his lover’s lower back. “Do you want me to stop?” he asked softly, nibbling at Hakyeon’s earlobe.  
“Fuck no…” Hakyeon replied as he closed his eyes and let out a shaky breath.

Taekwoon smiled against Hakyeon’s shoulder. He dragged his fingertips along Hakyeon’s spine, stopping right above his ass.   
He slipped his knee between Hakyeon’s legs and pushed them apart. He moved his fingers lower and over his entrance: he knew he’d be still loose from their past night, so he pushed two fingers in him as he kissed Hakyeon’s neck all the way to his ear.

Hakyeon gasped and threw his head back, mouth slack as Taekwoon scissored and twisted his fingers inside him. When he hooked them inside him _just so_ and Hakyeon pushed back on his hand letting out a string of curses, Taekwoon smiled.  
“You damn tease… fuck me already.” Hakyeon groaned.

Taekwoon pulled his fingers out and positioned himself between Hakyeon’s legs. He began pushing slowly, pulling out a little and then back in, inch by inch, until he was fully inside.  
He put his hands on Hakyeon’s hips and kissed him, trembling slightly.  
“Move Taekwoon… please…”

Taekwoon pulled almost completely out and then pushed back in. He placed his hands over Hakyeon’s, lacing their fingers together as he set up a slow rhythm, his thrusts long and languid, drawing moans from the man underneath him with each movement.

Both men hissed when Hakyeon pushed back to meet Taekwoon’s thrusts, taking his cock even deeper. Taekwoon disentangled one of his hands and wrapped it around Hakyeon’s cock, stroking it in time with his movements, rubbing his thumb on the head each time.  
“You feel so good Hakyeon…” Taekwoon whispered, placing kisses on his lover’s back, “you’re so beautiful…”

Hakyeon moaned softly, then reached down and covered Taekwoon’s hand on his cock with his own hand, taking over and setting his own rhythm, faster, alternatively pushing back against Taekwoon and forth into his hand.  
Taekwoon’s thrusts became faster as well. He grabbed Hakyeon’s chin with his free hand and turned his face to kiss him, messily biting his lower lip.

“I’m close…” Hakyeon breathed over Taekwoon’s lips, “come inside me Taekwoon…”  
At those words Taekwoon thrusts became shallower and his pace increased. Hakyeon gasped and with a few strokes reached his climax, coming on the tiles in front of him.  
Taekwoon followed almost immediately, hips jerking forward in short thrusts as he rode his orgasm out.  
He carefully pulled out and turned Hakyeon around. The two kissed again, slowly, until their legs stopped feeling like they were made of jelly and their breaths went back to normal. 

They washed quickly, then Taekwoon prepared some breakfast for both of them before Hakyeon had to leave.  
“I’ll call you later today when I’m done with work, ok?” he said as he kissed Taekwoon goodbye on the threshold. “We can eat something at my place if you feel like it.”  
“Sure.” Taekwoon replied with a small smile.  
After Hakyeon left, he closed the door and sighed.

\-------------------

The girl looked at the figure getting closer and tried to scream, but the tape on her mouth let out only muffled sounds.  
She tried to squirm, get away somehow, but her wrists and ankles were tied together with ropes, and the knots were just too tight.

The man kneeled down and grabbed her chin none too gently, lifting her face so she could look at him: “You break my heart little one… Aren’t you happy to see me?”  
The girl made some choked noises and fresh tears spilled down her cheeks over the salty traces of old, dried ones.

Something flashed under the dim light of the room and she felt a sharp pain on her face. She cried, or at least tried to, when she felt something warm on her skin, a stinging throb where the blade had cut her.

He was looking at the knife in his hand now, its tip red with blood, a sick grin on his face: “I’ll make you so pretty… a true masterpiece.”

His hand came down on her face, her arms, her breasts, carving her skin until all he could see was red, and she stopped moving… like the others.

The man stopped and frowned: “Too soon… they don’t last enough.”  
He got up and took off his gloves before exiting the room. He’d take a shower and then get rid of that broken doll on his way to work.

\-------------------

Hakyeon cursed when he saw the body. Next to him, he heard someone throw up, one of the new guys probably.  
He couldn’t blame them, really. That poor girl… it looked like he tortured her for a long time, she almost had no skin left on her face, and the rest of her body was similarly covered in cuts, not too deep to cause her death, but enough for a prolonged agony.

“That bastard bled her dry.”  
Hakyeon turned around to see one of his colleagues, Hongbin, stop a few steps behind him, his face a mask of disgust and rage.  
“He’s getting worse… we need to get him. Fast.”  
“Fucking psycho, he almost cut her head off... The chief will have to admit you were right this time.”  
Hakyeon shook his head: “I don’t care anymore. I just hope there won’t be another victim. Do we know who she was?”  
“Not yet. No ID or licence, and… well, it will be hard to match her face with any missing person picture we have on file for now.”  
“Nothing more we can do here. Let’s go back.”

\-------------------

Taekwoon opened the door and Hakyeon all but fell in his arms.  
“Hey. You ok?” he frowned as he held him close and kissed the side of his lover’s head.  
“I tried to call you a couple of times, you didn’t answer.”  
Taekwoon dragged him in and closed the door: “I’m sorry, I was with a difficult customer and it took me longer than I expected.”   
He took Hakyeon’s jacket off and undid his tie as he guided him to the sofa: “Another bad day? I thought we were supposed to have dinner at your place?”  
“I came here straight from the station. Sorry I ruined our plans.” He sat on the sofa and kicked his shoes off: “And yes. We found another body. Not a nice sight.”

Taekwoon sat down beside him and let Hakyeon curl against him: “It’s ok. We can order something and watch tv if you want.”  
“Yes please.” Hakyeon sighed: “I love my job, but sometimes it’s so… tiring. Going back to an empty house is the worst when it happens.”  
Taekwoon cupped Hakyeon’s face and kissed him slowly: “Do you want to stay here tonight?”  
“...thanks.”


	3. Chapter 3

Taekwoon opened the jewel case and smiled: the sapphire and diamond parure inside sparkled in the light of his small torch.  
He closed the safe and checked that everything was exactly where he found it before quickly heading out of the house. If he was lucky, it would take days for them to notice that the jewels were missing.

When he got back to his shop, he put the case in the safe hidden in the basement, behind a shelf.  
As he closed the door to the stairs behind him and stepped into the backroom of the shop, his phone vibrated in his pocket. Two missed calls. By Hakyeon.

Taekwoon cursed and hit the fast-dial button for his boyfriend.  
“Hakyeon? Are you getting off work now? ..no, no I haven’t eaten yet. No… yeah… I’m still at work, I was… unpacking some new objects. Sure, grab some food and I’ll see you at my place in thirty minutes.”

\-------------------

Taekwoon walked into the police station and dropped a paper bag on one of the desks.  
The person sitting behind it looked up and smiled: “Taekwoon. Did you bring Hakyeon his lunch again?”  
Taekwoon nodded: “I’ve bought something for you too. Hakyeon says you always forget.”  
“Ah, thanks so much! Hakyeon is very lucky to have you.”  
“Lee Hongbin, are you trying to snatch my boyfriend away from me?” Hakyeon appeared behind Taekwoon and grabbed him around his waist. “I’ll have you know it won’t work, I’m way sexier than you.”  
Taekwoon blushed and sighed, but let himself be dragged away as Hongbin laughed: “You wish! Be back in an hour, don’t be late as usual!”

The two men walked to the park on the other side of the street and sat on a bench in full sunlight.  
Hakyeon inhaled deeply and sighed: “Thank you for coming over. I really needed a break.”  
“You left before I woke up this morning.”  
“I’m sorry. I know I’ve been really busy these days, I swear I’ll make it up to you.”  
Hakyeon winked and Taekwoon lowered his head, trying to hide a small smile and a faint blush.  
“It’s okay, we both have our jobs to take care of.” the long-haired man replied, “I just miss spending time with you sometimes.”  
He then laughed softly: “Listen to me… We’ve been dating for only three weeks and I sound like a lovestruck teenager.”  
Hakyeon laughed and squeezed his hand: “I quite like this particular lovestruck teenager.”

They ate their sandwiches in silence, then Hakyeon ran to the nearby shop to get them both a cup of coffee.  
“I might not be able to see you tonight either.” he apologized as he took a sip from his cup.  
“Is it still about that murderer?”  
Hakyeon rubbed the back of his head: “Yeah… I wish that bastard would make some mistake, anything… I’m just glad we haven’t found any more bodies.”  
Taekwoon leaned in and pecked his lips: “I’m sure you’ll get him.”  
Hakyeon grinned, then he pulled him closer again for a longer kiss.

“Do you remember those stolen jewels?” Hakyeon asked right before going back inside the station.  
“...Yes?”  
“They’ve asked me and Hongbin to help whenever we have time. Do you think you could give me some kind of info if I showed you pictures?”  
“It’s not really my field of business…” Taekwoon replied carefully, but gave in a little when he saw Hakyeon’s dejected face: “...but I can give it a try I guess.”  
“You’re the best! Let me get you the folder, you can take it home and have a look.”  
As Hakyeon jogged inside the police station, Taekwoon sighed deeply, wondering why he was willing to go through all that trouble, all those lies for him.

\-------------------

Taekwoon sat on his sofa and sipped some coffee as he leafed through the sheets of paper in the folder that Hakyeon gave him.  
He picked up a picture to examine it more closely: of course he knew those jewels… but what was he supposed to tell him? Yes love, I know them very well, they are all currently in a safe hidden in the basement of my shop?  
He smiled, noticing that the sapphire necklace was missing from the list. He wished he had to deal with such idiots every time when he ‘acquired’ new pieces for his personal collection, it would make things so much easier for him.

He gulped down his coffee and stood, grabbing his jacket as he went out. He finally found out where a wonderful wooden painting from the 14th century was, and he would take advantage of Hakyeon working to check out the place.

\-------------------

She didn’t hear him coming. She jumped when he spoke, already so close to her, asking for directions. She didn’t stop to think where could he have come from, because there was no-one around and she really should have noticed him approaching.

And she shouldn’t have turned to point him to the right direction.   
If she did things right, she wouldn’t have felt that sharp pain at the back of her head, and her world wouldn’t have turned black…

\-------------------

Hakyeon stretched his back as he got off the car. He finally managed to get home early, he seriously needed a night off.  
He checked his phone and sighed: he had texted Taekwoon, letting him know he was heading home, but he hadn’t replied yet. Sometimes it was so hard to reach him, he just seemed to disappear…

Hakyeon stepped out of the elevator and froze, a smile on his lips: Taekwoon was sitting on the floor, back against his door, pizza box in his hand.  
“Hey.” he said quietly, taking Hakyeon stretched hand and letting Hakyeon pull him up.  
“I thought you didn’t get my texts.”  
“I wanted to surprise you.”  
“I’m glad you did. I didn’t feel like passing out on the couch while watching tv tonight.”  
“So, you’ll pass out all over me instead now?”  
Hakyeon laughed and unlocked the door: “I was actually thinking about food, shower and relax in bed?”

And they did. They ate, watched tv and now Hakyeon was finally sitting in bed, back against the headboard, reading the newspaper. He was wearing only his boxers and an old t-shirt, ready to go to sleep.  
He yelped as someone grabbed his ankles and pulled him, making him lie flat on the bed.  
Frowning, Hakyeon threw the newspaper on the floor, ready to grumble at his boyfriend, but the words stuck in his throat as he laid his eyes on him: Taekwoon was at the foot of the bed, still holding his ankles and smirking, hair wet from his shower. He hadn’t bothered with a t-shirt, and only wore a pair of gym pants that rode way too low on his hips for him to be wearing any underwear.  
Hakyeon swallowed thickly: “Breathtaking.” he whispered. He really needed a wider vocabulary, but that was really what he was. Breathtaking.

Taekwoon’s eyes grew darker, and he climbed on the bed, crawling up Hakyeon’s body and settling between his legs.  
When his face was at the same level as Hakyeon’s, he leaned down, nipping at his lower lip and leaving quick, open-mouthed kisses along his jaw. He sucked gently at the spot right below Hakyeon’s ear and was rewarded by a low moan.  
Hakyeon’s arms came up to wrap around his neck, pushing his long hair away from his face.  
“You’re beautiful.” he breathed over Taekwoon’s lips before kissing him slowly.

Hakyeon rolled them over and straddled Taekwoon’s hips, then grabbed his wrists and pinned them over his head.  
“Don’t move.” he said before kissing him quickly and sliding off the bed.  
He began rummaging in his wardrobe while Taekwoon looked at him curiously: “I hope you don’t have anything weird in there, like a maid outfit, because no way in hell I’m going to wear that.”  
Hakyeon laughed and turned around, having found what he was looking for.  
He climbed back up on the bed, straddling Taekwoon again. He was holding one of his neckties in his hands, and he was grinning.

“What’s that for?” Taekwoon asked, hands on Hakyeon’s hips.  
“Well,” Hakyeon replied, voice low and husky, “didn’t you say I’d be the only policeman you’d let handcuff you?”  
Hakyeon took off his shirt and threw it on the floor, then leaned down, pressing their chests together. He cupped Taekwoon’s face and kissed him, his other hand bringing one of Taekwoon’s hand back over his head: “You’re ok with this, right?” he murmured, and kissed him again, deeply, when Taekwoon nodded.

Hakyeon broke the kiss and moved to tie Taekwoon’s wrist to the headboard. He then did the same with the other wrist, tying them together, squirming a little when Taekwoon leaned in to nip playfully at his chest.  
When he was done, he sat back on Taekwoon’s lap, hands resting on the other man’s flat stomach.

Hakyeon looked at the man below him with hooded eyes, biting his lower lip: “Beautiful… you’re so beautiful Taekwoon… and you’re mine.”  
He dipped and nipped at the flesh right above Taekwoon’s bellybutton, moving slowly upwards, his hands spread over his chest, brushing his hard nipples.  
He kissed his way to Taekwoon’s neck, and as he bit the soft skin he pressed his hips down, making his lover gasp.

With a grin, Hakyeon sat back upright. He hooked his fingers on the waistband of Taekwoon’s pants, and he leaned forward a little so he could grind his groin against Taekwoon’s, who moaned and bucked his hips forward.   
Hakyeon laughed breathlessly: “Oh no my dear, you need to stay still.” he tut-tutted.

Hakyeon moved down along Taekwoon’s long legs, fingers still hooked on his waistband, and slowly pulled his pants down, with Taekwoon raising his hips to help him get them off. He then jumped off the bed to quickly get rid of his own underwear.  
He resumed his position on Taekwoon’s lap, and this time the feeling of their cocks sliding against each other made them both hiss.

Hakyeon wrapped his hand around both cocks, stroking lazily: “What do you want me to do, Taekwoonie?”  
Taekwoon looked at him and licked his lips. He closed his eyes and let his head fall on the pillow, moaning softly: “I… do whatever you want… just keep touching me... please…”

Hakyeon shifted on the other man’s body: he nudged his legs apart and kneeled between them, his hand now holding only Taekwoon’s cock, still stroking it very slowly.  
Never breaking eye contact, he bent over Taekwoon’s body, breathing over his lover’s cock before licking it on the underside, from base to tip.  
He took the head between his lips and sucked lightly, tongue swirling around it. Taekwoon groaned and his hips jerked forward.   
“Do try and be a good boy Taekwoonie,” Hakyeon purred, releasing Taekwoon’s cock from his mouth and using his free hand to hold his lover’s hips down, “or I’ll have to leave you there…”

He gave Taekwoon’s cock a squeeze before taking him in his mouth again, this time taking more of it, feeling it heavy on his tongue.  
Hakyeon bobbed his head a few times, slowly, humming and smiling when Taekwoon groaned, feeling it tremble beneath his hand from the effort of staying still.  
As much as he enjoyed hearing those sounds from his lover, he had other plans. With one last kiss, he let Taekwoon’s cock fall back against his stomach, hard and already leaking, and laughed when Taekwoon complained.

He quickly rolled to the side of the bed to get the lube from the nightstand, and back between Taekwoon’s legs.  
His lover had his legs bent to give him better access. Hakyeon kissed the inside of his thighs as he uncapped the bottle and poured some of its contents on his hand, biting down on the tender flesh as he pushed a finger inside of Taekwoon, who let out a soft gasp.

He pushed it in and out a few times before slowly adding a second, twisting them as he did so, Taekwoon’s hips pushing against his hand to match his rhythm.  
All the while, Hakyeon’s eyes never left Taekwoon’s face, and when the long-haired man closed his eyes, he kissed his thigh: “No, open your eyes… keep looking at me Taekwoon.”

With his fingers still inside him, Hakyeon stretched beside Taekwoon, who was now panting and blushing, but obeyed his request and kept his gaze on him.  
Hakyeon leaned in and took Taekwoon’s lower lip between his teeth, sucking it lightly before kissing him deep, tongues moving slowly but firmly against each other.

Taekwoon moaned loud in his mouth when Hakyeon pushed a third finger in, stretching him open. Hakyeon broke the kiss and placed soft kisses on his neck, breathing heavily: “I want you so bad…”  
“Please Hakyeon…” Taekwoon almost begged, licking his lips.

Hakyeon’s eyes grew darker as he moved back to between Taekwoon’s legs, removing his fingers.  
He poured some more lube on his hand and stroked his hard cock to coat it, then positioned himself. He wrapped his arms around both of Taekwoon’s legs and pushed in, slowly.  
Taekwoon pushed back, and they both stilled only when Hakyeon was completely in.

Hakyeon closed his eyes for the first time now, forehead resting against Taekwoon’s leg, a shiver running along his spine.  
He opened them again when Taekwoon placed his calves over Hakyeon’s shoulders and pushed down, making his cock sink deeper and making them both gasp.

Hakyeon pulled out almost completely, then pushed back in slowly but without stopping.  
He set up a steady rhythm, fucking Taekwoon with long deep thrusts, but it didn’t take long for him to increase the pace.   
Taekwoon grabbed the piece of cloth around his wrists to get some leverage and pushed back against Hakyeon, his legs dropping from his lover’s shoulders to lock around his waist, pulling him even closer.

The movement made Hakyeon lose his balance a little, and he fell forward and over Taekwoon, forearms resting on both sides of his head.  
Hakyeon stilled for just a moment, then began thrusting even harder. His hand moved between them to grab Taekwoon’s neglected cock, trying to match his own rhythm but not quite succeeding.

Taekwoon’s small moans and pants made Hakyeon feel heady. He kissed Taekwoon roughly, needily, trying to swallow his noises.  
“Untie me Hakyeon.” Taekwoon whispered when they broke the kiss. “I want to touch you.”  
Hakyeon bit his lip hard as he fumbled with the knots on Taekwoon’s wrists, trembling from the effort of staying still as he did it.

Once he could use his hands again, Taekwoon wrapped one arm around Hakyeon’s neck, pulling him down for a quick kiss, while the other replaced the one Hakyeon had on his cock.  
Hakyeon wrapped his now free arm around Taekwoon’s waist and began moving again, as fast and hard as before.

“Come for me, my love.” Hakyeon panted, lips brushing Taekwoon’s. He could feel Taekwoon’s frantic pulls on his cock, knew he was close, and when he came with a soft moan, he kissed him hard.  
Taekwoon clenching around his cock made him come soon after, and he pushed himself deep in his lover before falling on him.

They lay like this for a moment, with Taekwoon combing Hakyeon’s hair, trying to catch their breath.  
“Am I heavy?” Hakyeon murmured, snuggling against Taekwoon’s neck.  
“Not really.” Taekwoon replied with a smile, kissing the other man’s forehead, “But we need to clean up, unless you want to get stuck to me.”  
Hakyeon chuckled: “Sounds tempting, but I guess you’re right.”

He carefully pulled out and rolled on the bed, sighing. Taekwoon got up and walked to the bathroom, coming back some minutes later with a damp cloth.  
“You’re so lazy.” he complained as he cleaned Hakyeon up, but he was smiling as he said that.  
Hakyeon grinned back: “You like me like this.”  
“I do.” Taekwoon replied before throwing the cloth on the floor and slipping under the sheets, Hakyeon following right after.


	4. Chapter 4

“Hakyeon, we’ve got a missing person report.”  
Hakyeon looked up as Hongbin placed a file on his desk. He picked it up and examined the picture inside.  
“When has she gone missing?”  
“Four days ago.”  
“Four days? Why didn’t they call us sooner?”  
“Her roommate was out of town, she came back today and found no sign of her.”  
“Damn.”  
“I’ve got some CCTV tapes of the area where she was supposedly last seen, and there’s a few people we need to hear. You can choose.”  
Hakyeon sighed: “I’ll get the tapes.”

Hakyeon sat down in the darkened room with a mug of coffee in his hands, and pressed play.  
Watching CCTV tapes was quite dull and time-consuming, but letting such a criminal loose was definitely worse.

He had been watching videos for over 40 minutes now, and his eyes were stinging.   
His heart skipped a beat as a lean man appeared on the screen. The person had his back to the camera and was wearing a hoodie pulled over his head, but Hakyeon was sure he’d recognized him.

He rewinded the video a few times, but the more he watched it, the more he was sure he knew him.  
He went through the few remaining tapes, and thankfully they didn’t show anything remarkable, because Hakyeon just couldn’t concentrate on the task anymore.  
Yes, he saw the missing girl walk past, but no sign of anyone following or assaulting her. Maybe Hongbin had been luckier.

As soon as he was done, he rubbed his eyes with a sigh and decided to call it a night. Hongbin wasn’t back yet, so he just picked up his jacket and left. He desperately needed to make sure of something. 

Hakyeon sat in his car for a few minutes, thinking carefully about what he should do, then left.   
He stopped to get some Chinese food and drove to Taekwoon’s shop. It was way past closing time, but the had a feeling he’d find him here. He was often here when they weren’t together.  
Or so he told him.

Hakyeon parked his car and quickly covered the distance to the antique shop. He placed a hand on the window and leaned in to scan the place, smiling when he saw a light at the back of the room.  
He knocked on the glass till he saw Taekwoon walk to the door and unlock it.

“What are you doing here?” Taekwoon greeted him with a smile both on his lips and in his eyes.  
“I’m being a perfect boyfriend and brought you dinner, of course.” Hakyeon grinned, showing the food he bought.  
“How did you know I was here?” Taekwoon asked as he let him in and then locked the door again.  
“I didn’t. But I thought you might be. Turns out I was right.”

They ate sitting on the old sofa that Taekwoon kept in the back room, in a comfortable silence.  
“What were you doing four nights ago?” Hakyeon asked once they were done eating and he shuffled close to Taekwoon, lying his head on his chest.  
“Four nights ago?” Taekwoon replied as he wrapped his arm over Hakyeon’s shoulders, keeping him close. “I went out for a walk I think. I often do that when you work late.”  
He gave him the name of a park on the other side of the city, and Hakyeon grunted softly, satisfied.  
“Why are you asking?” he knew that Hakyeon, due to his job, could be quite curious, so he tried to answer as truthfully as possible to any of his questions.  
Hakyeon shrugged: “Hongbin thought he saw someone who looked like you.”  
“Maybe it was me then, he should have said hi. Or… am I in trouble?” Taekwoon asked with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Hakyeon grinned, tangling his fingers in Taekwoon’s shirt and letting himself fall back on the couch, pulling Taekwoon on top of him.  
“Should I tie you up again? Maybe use a blindfold too this time?” he teased, smirk spreading on his face as he noticed how his lover’s eyes grew darker at those words.  
Taekwoon licked his lips and leaned down to kiss him, nipping at Hakyeon’s lower lip: “Let’s go home…”

Hakyeon groaned, then followed Taekwoon when he got off him and stood. On his way to the front door, be bumped against some shelves, and something fell on the floor.  
He picked the object up, a blue, velvety box: “I thought you didn’t deal in jewelry?”  
“I don’t.” said Taekwoon, gently taking the jewel box from his hands and placing it back on the shelf. “I found it in a crate of mixed items I bought some days ago. It’s empty, I forgot to throw it away.”

“Now,” he said, smirking, “are you going to fulfill that promise or not?”

\-------------------

She screamed against the rag stuffed in her mouth, splatters of blood hitting her face.

“Hush sweetheart, let me work. Don’t you want to be beautiful?” he showed her the razor he was using, the blade slick with sticky red liquid.

He brought the razor down once again, and she began sobbing, tears streaming down her face.  
She tried to move away from the pain, but she was weak from both the blood loss and the ties on her hands and feet, and her efforts only resulted in bigger slashes from the razorblade above her.

He cursed out loud, his pattern of cuts disrupted by the sudden movement. The surprise made him clutch the razor, and he swore as he felt the sharp pain of the blade cutting through his gloves and carving his own flesh. He slapped her, anger boiling within him. 

He was still wiping his blood when her eyes rolled back in her head and she began convulsing, her back arching and her limbs shaking rapidly.  
He grabbed her arms, trying to still her, but it wouldn’t work. The seizure lasted only a few seconds, and when it was over, her eyes were closed.   
He couldn’t feel her pulse, and let out a scream of frustration. Another broken doll.

He grabbed her and dragged her out of the room, he would need to dispose of her far sooner than he wished.

\-------------------

Taekwoon grinned as he held his backpack close, feeling the sharp corners of the box inside it.

Getting the book had been a lot easier than he anticipated. Old safe, outdated alarm system, they obviously didn’t think anyone would be interested in stealing it.  
The only drawback was that Taekwoon was now on the other side of town and he didn’t own a car, but it was worth it.

Once he arrived at his shop he placed the book in his safe, together with the rest of his collection, glancing over the pieces with a satisfied smirk.

On his way out of the basement, in the dark, he scraped his forearm against a crate that he didn’t remember putting there. A nail was sticking out and it drew blood.  
Taekwoon swore and walked to the back room to put a band-aid on it before finally heading home.

\-------------------

“Hakyeon! They found her!”  
Hakyeon turned to look at Hongbin who had just stormed inside their office.  
“Fuck… poor girl, how bad is it this time?”  
“Not as bad as we feared… She’s alive at least.”  
“What? How’s that possible? Did she escape?”  
“I come from the hospital, they said that she had some kind of stroke, or seizure. The killer clearly thought her dead and he hastily dumped her along a road in the countryside. She’s lucky someone noticed her and called the police.”  
“How is she? Any chance she can help?”  
Hongbin took a deep sigh and made a face: “I’m afraid not. Not for now at least. She’s in a deep coma, doctors cannot say when or if she will wake up.”  
“You should have called me.” Hakyeon frowned.  
“Hakyeon, you haven’t rested properly in almost a week, you needed a pause.” his partner snorted.  
“Still…”

The telephone rang at that moment, and Hakyeon picked it up: “Cha Hakyeon here. Yes, he just told me. Yes… what? Are you sure? Yeah, I’ll be waiting... Thanks.” Hakyeon glanced quickly at Hongbin, who frowned, waiting for his partner to end the call so he could brief him.  
“Well?” Hongbin inquired, a little impatiently.  
Hakyeon grinned at him: “It seems like our friend made a mistake this time. They found some drops of blood on her arm. _His_ blood.”  
Hongbin raised his brows in surprise: “He must have really been in a hurry to get rid of the girl to make such a mistake. Not that I’m going to complain…”  
“Yeah, something must have happened. The lab’s going to keep us updated as soon as they finish their tests.”

The police had issued warnings for women to never walk alone if possible and in general to be extra careful until they could catch the killer.  
For the first time in weeks, Hakyeon believed they were finally on the right track.

He stretched his back, feeling it crack in several points, and pushed his chair back, standing.  
“Are you going home?”   
“Yes. The results on the blood won’t be in before tomorrow anyway.”  
“Say hi to Taekwoon for me, I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you.” Hongbin grinned.  
“Just… shut up, Lee Hongbin.”  
Hongbin laughed out loud as Hakyeon made his exit with a huff and a smile on his face.

On his way to his car, Hakyeon sent Taekwoon some very dirty text messages, laughing as his boyfriend called him almost immediately after.  
“Taekwoonie~ I got off work earlier, are you coming over for dinner? will you cook for me? I’ll have some nice wine ready, ok? Yeah… see you later then.”

Hakyeon drove home and took a long, hot shower before wearing comfortable gym pants and a hoodie. He cleaned up the place a bit, he knew Taekwoon wouldn’t mind much, but it still wouldn’t hurt to keep his apartment a bit tidier.

When Taekwoon arrived, Hakyeon barely had time to close the door shut before he got pushed against the wall and kissed senseless.  
“Missed me?” he asked with a grin.  
“What do you think?” Taekwoon breathed against his neck as he ground his hips down against Hakyeon’s, making him moan.

Taekwoon’s hands slipped under his hoodie and tried to pull it over his head.  
“Hey, hey…” Hakyeon laughed, “what about dinner?”  
“Not hungry right now… later.” Taekwoon replied, sucking Hakyeon’s lower lip into his mouth and swiping his tongue over it.  
Hakyeon groaned and nodded, following Taekwoon into his bedroom.

\-------------------

“What did you do?” Hakyeon asked as he grabbed Taekwoon’s arm and examined it closely.  
“I didn’t notice a nail sticking out from a crate last night.”  
“Last night? Where were you last night anyway? I tried to call you more than once, I thought we could spend some time together.”  
Taekwoon shifted on the bed till he was facing Hakyeon, pulling him close and looking into his eyes as he spoke: “I’m sorry. I thought you were working late again and I fell asleep at the shop. I woke up in the middle of the night and I hurt my arm as I was going home. I only saw your missed calls this morning and I felt horrible.”

Taekwoon kissed Hakyeon deeply and slowly till he felt him sigh in his mouth.  
“Let me make it up to you.” Taekwoon murmured as he kissed his way down Hakyeon’s neck and chest.  
“Taekwoon…” Hakyeon began, but as soon as Taekwoon’s lips wrapped around his half-hard cock, he closed his eyes and ran his fingers through Taekwoon’s hair, all words forgotten.

\-------------------

Hakyeon sat at his desk the next morning, turning the little plastic bag in his hands, deep in thought.  
Taekwoon’s wound had bled a little when they woke up, so he disinfected it and replaced the band-aid, throwing away the stained one.

But Hakyeon picked it up after Taekwoon left, and put it in the same plastic bag he was holding now. And he felt incredibly guilty about it.

The truth was, as much as he was fond of Taekwoon and wanted to completely trust him, there was something off about his boyfriend. He didn’t give off murderer vibes, but Hakyeon relied on his instincts, and they told him that there was something that Taekwoon wasn’t telling him.

He would send the band-aid to the lab to get checked, he was pretty sure he’d feel like an idiot when the results would come in, but better safe than sorry.

\-------------------

“Hey Taekwoon! So long no see!”  
Taekwoon stopped as he was climbing the stairs to the police station and turned to smile at the person who greeted him: “Hongbin. How are you doing?”  
“Overworking as usual, but I can’t complain.” Hongbin smiled as he pointed at the paper bag in Taekwoon’s hands: “Bringing Hakyeon lunch again?” he sighed, “I wish I had such a caring boyfriend as well.”

Taekwoon smiled and ducked his head to hide his embarrassment, but that just made Hongbin laugh again.  
“Oh, right,” he said, suddenly remembering something, “Hakyeon told me you thought you saw me walking around a few nights ago? You should have said hi.”  
Hongbin looked surprised: “What? Are you sure it was me? I barely have time to go anywhere lately, if I get out of here I usually go straight home.”  
“Ah, forget about it, I probably misunderstood. It’s not a big deal.”

\-------------------

Taekwoon lay awake in his bed, hand gently carding through Hakyeon’s hair.  
He had been thinking a lot in the past couple of days, ever since he spoke with Hongbin.   
He thought about Hakyeon and their relationship, and his feelings for the man sleeping peacefully in his arms.   
He knew that the possibility of a slip-up was always there, especially with someone as smart as Hakyeon. But he just couldn’t afford any slip-ups.

Hakyeon sighed in his sleep and wrapped his arms tighter around Taekwoon’s waist, slipping his leg between Taekwoon’s own.  
Taekwoon kissed his forehead and hugged him close: now he knew what had to be done.

\------------------- 

Hakyeon got off his car whistling and headed towards Taekwoon’s shop.   
He was in a pretty good mood, the results from the lab came in and they were negative, Taekwoon wasn’t the killer. That didn’t help him at all with his case, but it was like a boulder had been lifted off his chest.  
He still felt guilty for suspecting him though, even if Taekwoon didn’t know about it. He would need to treat him to something nice, maybe he could let Taekwoon tie _him_ up this time…

There was a ‘closed’ sign on Taekwoon’s door, but it still swung open as Hakyeon pushed it. That was weird. Was Taekwoon expecting someone?  
“Taekwoon? It’s me.” Hakyeon called out. No reply.

Hakyeon advanced in the empty shop, walking slowly to the back room.  
His heart was racing: what if something had happened to Taekwoon? He began chanting ‘pleasepleaseplease’ in his mind as he held his breath and peeked inside the room: empty.

“Taekwoon?”  
He looked around the room, till his eyes landed on the door that lead to the basement.  
He never paid much attention to it before, but it was ajar now, and Hakyeon pulled it open completely.  
He began his way down the stairs, slowly, unconsciously making as little sound as possible.

He had almost reached the basement floor when he saw him: Taekwoon was there, going back and forth from behind some shelves, putting various things in little bags that he then placed in a box.  
Things… sparkly things.

“What’s going on?” he asked, his voice coming out far hoarser than he’d ever imagined, his mouth having gone completely dry.  
Taekwoon turned around to look at him, wide-eyed: “Hakyeon? What are you doing here?”  
“The door was open.” he took a step closer to Taekwoon, gaze dropping to the item currently in his hands. “You don’t deal in jewels, that’s what you told me.”

Hakyeon’s gaze turned cold as ice as he looked Taekwoon in the eye: “Of course you don’t. Why buying them when you can steal them?”  
“Hakyeon…”  
“I’m not stupid Taekwoon.” He let out a bitter laugh, “Or maybe I am, since I never suspected a thing till now.”

Taekwoon looked at him with a sad expression on his face: “Hakyeon… I’m sorry.”  
“Why Taekwoon?” Hakyeon could feel his anger rising.  
Taekwoon shrugged, not looking at him: “I liked them, no other reason. Their owners acquired them illegally, so I thought…”  
“You thought that excuse would make you better than them?”  
“No, I am not any better. That’s why I was going to return everything to the police.”

Hakyeon remained silent, and Taekwoon took a step in his direction: “Hakyeon…”  
“Stay where you are.”  
“Hakyeon?”  
“You fucking lied to me Taekwoon. Oh I bet you were gloating all this time, to be able to trick a policeman.”  
“What? No! Hakyeon I’m trying to end this once and for all, don’t you see?” he waved at the box of stolen jewels.  
“And I’m supposed to believe you?”  
“I love you Hakyeon, losing you over this was what I was trying to avoid. Clearly it didn’t go very well.”  
“I… I thought I had feelings for you too Taekwoon. Now I’m not so sure anymore.”

Taekwoon looked like he had been hit at those words, and Hakyeon looked away.  
He felt tears gathering behind his eyes, he couldn’t tell if from hurt or anger though, and quickly turned around, running up the stairs.  
“Hakyeon! Wait!” Taekwoon shouted, running after him.

Hakyeon was already at the door, about to leave.  
“Hakyeon! Please!”  
Hakyeon stopped, his hand on the handle, but he didn’t turn around: “Stay away from me Taekwoon.”  
“Yes Hakyeon, I’m a thief. Or I was, because that’s already in the past for me. And I’m changing my life for you, because I’m head over heels for you. People do change Hakyeon, and yet you won’t give me a second chance?”  
Hakyeon didn’t reply, but didn’t turn back either as he walked out.


	5. Chapter 5

Taekwoon kept his word and all the stolen jewels and pieces of art were returned to the police the following morning, together with a dossier for each item listing their previous owners and the illegal ways with which they were acquired.

The whole station was buzzing with excitement at the finding, even Hongbin kept talking about it.  
Hakyeon managed a small smile when his partner broke him the news, but he wasn’t really in the mood to celebrate.  
“Hey, are you ok?”  
“Yeah, I’ve just got a bad headache, it’ll go away.”

Hakyeon focused on his work the whole day, trying to not let his eyes wander to the phone, nor his thoughts to Taekwoon.  
As a matter of fact, Taekwoon never called or texted, and Hakyeon found himself both grateful and a little bit upset.

He postponed his return home as long as he could, but when Hongbin threatened to kick him out the station he decided to leave.  
Hakyeon wasn’t really keen on going back home to be honest. He was still _enraged_ at Taekwoon, but knowing he wouldn’t hear from him or see him… that would take some time getting used to.

He briefly thought about going to a bar and drink himself unconscious, but then ruled it out as a really bad idea. He needed to be sharp at work these days.

He parked his car and walked to his building, slowing almost to a halt when he saw someone leaning against the wall a few feet from the front door.  
“What are you doing here?” he asked, wary, looking everywhere but at the man in front of him.  
“You didn’t tell on me.” Taekwoon said, pushing himself off the wall. His soft voice sounded surprised.  
“I didn’t. And I won’t tell them, don’t worry. But this is all you’re going to get from me.”  
“I… thank you.”  
“Was that all? If so, please excuse me but I’m really tired.”

Hakyeon walked past him to the door, searching his pocket for the keys.  
“Hakyeon…”  
Hakyeon froze, not turning around.  
“I miss you. And I’m sorry.”  
Taekwoon left, and Hakyeon tried not to think about the knot in his throat threatening to choke him.

\-------------------

Hakyeon was running, faster, faster, the man he was chasing almost disappearing from his sight.  
“Wait!” he shouted, his legs hurting so much he thought he would fall on the ground, but he couldn’t stop now, he just couldn’t… he _had_ to go on.  
He sprinted forward, and this time he gained some ground. He rounded a corner and reached out, grabbing the man’s wrist, but the figure turned around and pushed Hakyeon against the wall.  
Hakyeon was now staring into Taekwoon’s eyes, dark and full of sadness.

Hakyeon opened his mouth to say something, but Taekwoon kissed him. He kissed him fiercely, not giving him any time to think or letting him break contact.  
Suddenly they weren’t against a wall anymore, and now Taekwoon was pinning Hakyeon to his bed, fingers digging into his hips. Hakyeon wanted to push him away, be angry at him, but instead he wrapped his arms around Taekwoon’s neck tight, holding him impossibly close.  
Taekwoon broke the kiss and stared again at him, brushing his fingertips gently over his face. Hakyeon revelled in those feather-like touches and closed his eyes.  
When he opened them again, Taekwoon was gone. 

Hakyeon blinked and looked around his room, a room that felt so much emptier this morning. He hid his face in the crook of his arm and cried.

\-------------------

He screamed in frustration, kicking a chair as hard as he could. It landed on the opposite wall, making a loud metallic sound and toppling over.  
He had been out for most of the night, but came back empty-handed. How was he supposed to create the perfect artwork if he couldn’t find any new doll to work on?

Damn the police, they scared them all away…  
But they wouldn’t win, oh no, he would get more canvas no matter what.

\-------------------

“Are you sure you’re ok?”  
“I’m completely fine Hongbin, why are you asking?”  
“Well, for once you’ve been staring at the same report page for the past ten minutes. Have you guys fought?”  
“What do you mean.”  
“You. And Taekwoon. Have. You. Fought.”  
“Not your business.”  
Hongbin sighed: “Fine. My business or not, you need to sort it out. And soon. I need you focused on this.”

Hongbin walked out of their shared office and Hakyeon grunted. His partner was right, he couldn’t let his break-up affect him so badly.   
He had tried to tire himself to sleep for the past week: if he didn’t, he was scared he’d dream about Taekwoon again.

\-------------------

Taekwoon was waiting for him outside his building again that night.  
Hakyeon’s breath caught as soon as he saw him, because Taekwoon had cut his hair short and _damn_ Hakyeon didn’t think he could get even more handsome.   
Taekwoon still had that effect on him, and it made Hakyeon angry.

Hakyeon spent some seconds deciding whether he should listen to what the other man wanted to say or just ignore him. In the end he approached him.

“What is it now?”  
Taekwoon walked closer and stared at him, concern clearly visible in his eyes: “You look horrible. Do you sleep enough?”  
Hakyeon snorted: “You shouldn’t worry, I know how to take care of myself. Why are you here? Are you bored now that you don’t have your policeman pet to toy with?”

Taekwoon shot him an angry look, and Hakyeon was taken aback: “I might have lied to you about many things, but I never lied to you about _us_, about my feelings for you. You probably don’t care for it anymore, but don’t you _dare_ mock our relationship.”

Hakyeon looked away and didn’t reply, lips pressed in a thin line.   
Taekwoon sighed: “I came to give you some information. Your killer tried to kidnap a prostitute last night. He failed because her pimp ran to help her.”  
Hakyeon frowned: “Why don’t we know about this? We alerted all our informers to come to us if they saw anything strange. And how do _you_ know about it?”  
“The police doesn’t have informers everywhere. And I know how to listen, I’m good at finding things out.”

Taekwoon took a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Hakyeon, then began walking away.  
“Taekwoon!”  
Taekwoon stopped and turned around, waiting for Hakyeon to go on.  
“Thank you. But now stay out of this, it’s dangerous.”  
Taekwoon’s lips curved in a half-smile before turning around and disappearing behind the corner of the building.

\-------------------

Hakyeon woke up early and well-rested. He decided not to dwell too much on the fact that it was the first time in a week that he was able to sleep soundly, and it had been right after he saw Taekwoon.

He showed Hongbin the piece of paper that Taekwoon gave him the night before.  
“Where did you get this?” Hongbin asked, turning the paper over in his hands and reading it.  
“I found it on my car last night. Might be worth looking into, who knows?”  
“Ok, let’s go check.”

The pimp was surprised to see them, and even more so when they asked him about the attack on one of his girls.  
After some friendly ‘convincing’, he told them what little he saw. He didn’t see the attacker’s face, it was dark and he was in his car and only saw an indistinct figure when the man came up behind the girl. He got out the car and shouted, and that had the stranger run away.   
He did notice he limped slightly though.

“What do you make of it?” Hongbin asked once they were on their way back to the station.  
“Not much unfortunately. I wish he’d seen his face at least, anything that would help us more.”  
“We’ll get him Hakyeon.”

\-------------------

In the next days, the police got more reports coming in of prostitutes getting approached by a limping man on the streets.  
Word spread and pimps were ready to collaborate with the police because ‘it was bad for business’ as they put it. But still no-one had seen his face, even if they all agreed on his built and more general characteristics. It was definitely their man.

\-------------------

Taekwoon showed up at Hakyeon’s door again late one night. Hakyeon had been coming home always really late, sometimes way past midnight. As he saw him leaning against the wall he wondered how he knew what time he would be home? Surely he wouldn’t just wait for him for hours...  
“I think I’ve got some more information for you, Hakyeon.”  
“Taekwoon…”  
“There’s a warehouse on the other side of the city, nothing too big or conspicuous, the owner rented it a few months ago to someone distinct-looking, like he was some kind of businessman or similar. He paid cash for a whole year of rent, so no questions were asked. I’m going to check on this and-”   
“Taekwoon!”  
Hakyeon’s voice rang loud in the quietness of the night, and Taekwoon fell silent.  
“I’ve told you already: stay out of this.”  
“Let me help Hakyeon.”  
“No. This is our job, it could be dangerous.”  
Taekwoon bit his lip in thought, but didn’t press it further: “As you wish.”  
Hakyeon looked past him, swallowing hard: “Don’t… don’t come here anymore.”

Hakyeon didn’t look at Taekwoon, but he could feel his stare on him.   
He knew he’d hurt him, but this wasn’t some game Taekwoon could waltz in just because he wanted to apologize to Hakyeon. This was serious, and dangerous.

Hakyeon was almost hoping that Taekwoon would complain, get angry, anything… instead he didn’t say a word, eyes fixed on Hakyeon, as heavy as a boulder, boring into his neck as Hakyeon turned around and walked to his front door.

\-------------------

Hakyeon stared at the map pinned on the wall: Hongbin had marked all the places where the girls had been kidnapped and where the bodies had been found, and now was marking the attempted assaults of the past days.

It didn’t look like there was any order or logic to the places, they were most probably just random places far enough his lair so as not to get caught, but what if…  
“Looks like the prostitutes were all from the same side of the city.” he said.  
“Yeah. Except for the first one, all the rest work in the same area, more or less the same three neighbourhoods.”  
“What if he’s getting so desperate that he’s being careless?”  
Hongbin looked at him: “Do you think he’s still trying to kill? Even with the police after him?”  
“I don’t think we scared him.” Hakyeon rubbed his temples, then pointed at a place on the map close to where the recent assaults took place: “Let’s check all the empty and isolated warehouses in this area. See if someone has rented one lately.”  
Hakyeon hated himself for his hypocrisy: he had taken what Taekwoon told him the night before and was now using it, even if he ordered the other man to stay out of this.

“This could take a while, that area has a lot of abandoned or empty buildings. What if he succeeds in kidnapping someone else in the meantime?”  
“What do you suggest then?”  
“Let’s set up a bait. Two or three female agents in those areas he’s been hunting.”  
Hakyeon bit his lower lip, brows furrowed in thought: “It could work. We can continue checking the warehouses and try to catch him at the same time.”

\-------------------

Hakyeon moved his gaze back and forth from the reports on his desk to the map of the city pinned to the wall. He walked over it and crossed with a pen all the warehouses mentioned in the report he’d been reading.

When he was done, he sat on the edge of his desk, crossed his arms on his chest and stared at the map for a few minutes.  
He picked up a folder and leafed through the photos that were inside, putting aside those of the warehouses he had already crossed off on the map. Five remained when he was done.  
Out of these, he picked two after further cross-checking information.

“Hongbin? I’m going to check on something.” he called his partner on the phone as he ran out of the station.  
“Hakyeon where are you going?”  
“Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon, I just need to make sure of one thing.”  
“Hakyeon-”  
Hakyeon closed the call and got on his car. He’d send Hongbin a message if he discovered anything.

\-------------------

Hakyeon stopped his car almost a block away from the dark warehouse. He had been to the other one already, and found nothing suspicious.  
He checked his gun and got out. The warehouse was fairly old, surrounded by empty buildings and even wasteland on one side.   
The perfect place if you wanted secrecy and didn’t want anyone to notice you coming or going.

He made his way to the building, the cloudy grey sky helping him to go unnoticed. He walked around the warehouse, looking for a way in other than the main door.  
He found it right at the back, when he tried a secondary door and it swung open.

Hakyeon furrowed his brows and un-holstered his gun, cautiously stepping in.  
The room turned out to be some sort of office, dark and silent, the only furnishing being a dusty desk and a cabinet pushed along a wall.  
Upon inspection, a door to the left was confirmed to lead into a small toiled, so Hakyeon carefully approached the only other way out of the room other than the one he just used.

He tried the handle, and the door opened quite silently, making only the faintest of sounds which echoed too loudly in the silence of the warehouse for Hakyeon’s liking, and he cursed under his breath.  
The place was empty, safe from a few crates and metallic shelves most probably left by the previous tenants.

Hakyeon walked in, gun in hand, making his way along the wall towards a stack of crates. He had just turned around it when he heard a rustling sound behind him.  
He spun around, gun aimed in front of him…

“Fuck!” he hissed as he lowered his weapon, “Do you want me to shoot you Taekwoon? What the fuck are you doing here?”  
Taekwoon took a step in his direction, glaring: “I could ask you the same, what are you thinking about, coming here alone?”  
“I told you not to get involved in this!”  
“Well, guess what, you’d better arrest me if you want me to leave.”  
“I swear to god, Jung Taekwoon…”  
Hakyeon stopped mid-sentence and both men froze as they heard a sudden noise coming from outside.

They ducked behind a crate as the main door at the other side of the warehouse squeaked open.  
A bulky man slowly walked in, with what looked like an unconscious body slung over his shoulder. He was limping slightly.  
He headed to a set of stairs half-hidden to his right and disappeared upstairs.

Hakyeon swore: “How the hell? How was he able to get another girl? What’s upstairs?”  
Taekwoon answered him, his normally soft voice taking a somewhat darker tone: “Rooms. They probably used to be offices. It’s where he keeps them. Some of those rooms… they’re not a nice sight.”

Hakyeon walked out of their hiding place and slowly walked towards the stairs.  
Taekwoon grabbed his arm and pulled him back: “Where the fuck are you going?” he whispered.  
“Go out and call Hongbin. I’m going to take a look upstairs.”  
“Don’t be stupid Hakyeon. We go out together, it’s dangerous. He won’t kill her right away, and we can wait for Hongbin to arrive.”

Hakyeon glared at Taekwoon, but after a few instants he gave up: “You’re right. Let’s go out.”  
Taekwoon let out a sigh of relief and turned, heading back to the ground-floor office.  
They walked in silence to the door. As soon as Taekwoon walked out though, he heard a ‘click’ and the door shut behind him.  
“Hakyeon!” he called out as he tried the door again, without success.

Now that Hakyeon was alone, he went back to the warehouse, this time heading straight for the stairs.  
He ducked behind a stack of crates when he heard the killer talking to himself upstairs. He couldn’t make out the words, but he could hear him moving. Eventually, his shuffling became nearer, and Hakyeon could see his back as he slowly walked down the stairs and left through the front door.

Hakyeon waited a couple of seconds to make sure he wasn’t coming back, then sprinted for the stairs.  
The space was divided into small rooms with a central corridor. The air smelled faintly of the sickly sweet smell of blood and disinfectants.

The first room he checked was the most disturbing: it contained just a table and a few shelves, but on it Hakyeon could see some razors and other bigger blades. On a corner, coils of rope and some duct tape.  
Hakyeon quickly checked all the other rooms. They all had the same furnishing: a bed with a simple mattress. Some of the rooms had dark stains blotting both mattresses and walls in various degrees, other were perfectly clean. Thankfully, they were all empty.

Only one was left, Hakyeon pushed the door open and saw the girl that the man brought here before. She was tied to the bed, a rag used as a gag.  
He rushed to her side, and checked her pulse. He knew she must be alive, or he wouldn’t have kept her.  
He was trying to wake her up when everything went black…

\-------------------

“Hakyeon! Hakyeon! Wake up!”  
Hakyeon opened his eyes and slowly focused on the worried face of Taekwoon looking at him.  
“Taekwoon? What… ouch!” he tried to move but a throbbing pain at the back of his head held him back.  
Taekwoon scoffed and cut the ropes around Hakyeon’s wrists and ankles.

“How did you get in?” he asked as he rubbed his wrists.  
“Why do you think the back door was open when you arrived?”   
Hakyeon was sure he could feel Taekwoon’s glare even if he wasn’t looking at him.  
“Thank you. The girl…”  
“She’s safe for now. I’ve called Hongbin, he’s on his way. Let’s get out of here.”

Taekwoon pulled Hakyeon up on his feet, handed him his gun and walked to the stairs. They were in one of the empty rooms on the first floor, and Hakyeon thanked whatever god was out there it was a clean one.

“We need to be quick.” Taekwoon warned him. He was already at the bottom of the stairs: “I lured him out by making some noise, but he won’t-”  
Hakyeon froze a few steps behind Taekwoon as he watched the killer step out of a blind corner around the stairs and stab him twice.  
Taekwoon slumped lifelessly on the floor as the man pushed him aside to make his way to Hakyeon, throwing himself at him, knife aimed at his chest.

Hakyeon got out of his daze just in time to step back and avoid the slash. The man lost his balance and Hakyeon kicked him hard in the stomach, making him fall backwards at the foot of the stairs.  
The knife slid off the killer’s hands and away from him. Hakyeon quickly kicked it further away and pointed his gun at the man on the ground who was trying to get up.  
“Don’t move.”

Hakyeon’s gaze kept shifting from the man in front of him to the still form of Taekwoon to his left. He wanted to rush to his side, but he didn’t have his handcuffs or anything he could use to restrain the killer.  
It was during one of those moments of distraction that the man kicked his legs from under him.  
Hakyeon fell and the man crawled on top of him surprisingly fast, punching him. He then stood up, grabbed Hakyeon’s gun and pointed it at him, ready to fire.

A shot rang out loud in the empty warehouse, and Hakyeon blinked in surprise as the killer fell to his knees, clutching his shoulder.  
“Hakyeon! Are you alright?”  
“Hongbin! Taekwoon…”

Hakyeon scrambled to his feet and ran over to where Taekwoon was. He was lying in a pool of blood, his face deadly pale.  
Hakyeon touched his hair, his face, anywhere but near his wound, for fear of making it worse.  
“Hakyeon… the ambulance is coming. He’ll be fine…”  
“Hongbin… it’s my fault.” he swallowed a lump in his throat. “What am I going to do if…”  
“Don’t think about it, ok?”

The ambulance did arrive soon after, and took Taekwoon away.  
Hakyeon stayed back, briefing Hongbin on what had happened as they sealed the whole building.

“Why was Taekwoon here?” Hongbin asked as a new ambulance left with the kidnapped girl.  
“He saw me and followed me. I told him to leave, he wasn’t supposed to be inside…”  
“Why don’t you go to the hospital? I can take over here.”  
“But…”  
“You’ve told me what happened already. I’m sure Taekwoon will appreciate seeing your face when he wakes up.”

\-------------------

“How is he, doctor?”  
“He’s lost a lot of blood, but luckily no organ was damaged. He might be able to leave the hospital in a few days.”  
“Can I see him?”  
“He’s still sedated, but you can go in.”

Hakyeon closed the door behind him and stood at the foot of the bed.  
Taekwoon was sleeping, his normally pale skin even paler, the only touch of colour given by his black hair.  
Hakyeon grabbed a chair and pulled it close to the bed. He stared at Taekwoon, wringing his hands in his lap before taking Taekwoon’s hand in his, thumbs caressing the cold skin.

He just sat there, looking at the sleeping man on the bed, listening to his steady breath.  
As the hours rolled by, his body began feeling the stress of the day, and his eyelids got heavier.  
Hakyeon laid his head on the bed next to Taekwoon’s warm body, never letting go of his hand, and let sleep claim him.

When he woke up, the first thing he noticed was the soothing feeling of his hair being stroked.  
The second, Taekwoon’s dark eyes looking down at him.  
“Hi.” Hakyeon smiled as he sat up, voice cracking a little from sleep. “How are you feeling?”  
“Like I got run over by a freight train.” Taekwoon replied, his strained expression betraying the smile on his lips. “You’re not hurt, are you?” he added.  
“I… thank you. I guess I owe you my life.”  
“Hakyeon, I…”  
“No, it’s true. Also… I’m sorry. If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t be here now.”

Hakyeon had his gaze fixed on the wall in front of him, and only the delicate touch of Taekwoon’s fingers on his arm made him look up.  
“I’d do it again if I had to.”  
The pure look of adoration in Taekwoon’s tired eyes was too much for Hakyeon, and he felt all the tension and worry of the day hit him: “I… I saw you on the floor Taekwoon… there was so much blood, and you were so pale, you wouldn’t move… I had my job to do but I was so scared you’d...”

Taekwoon flinched as he stretched his arm to brush Hakyeon’s tears away. Hakyeon grabbed his hand and laced their fingers together, holding tight.  
“All I could think of was ‘what am I going to do if he doesn’t wake up?’ I know I probably don’t deserve it but… can you give me another chance?”

Taekwoon laughed softly, but his laugh was interrupted once again by a grimace: “Ouch… my stitches…”  
“Taekwoon? Are you ok?” Hakyeon stood up, a panicked look on his face, and Taekwoon had to bite his lip so not to laugh again.  
“I am. Kiss me?”  
Hakyeon’s face relaxed into a smile as he leaned down to chastely kiss Taekwoon’s lips once, twice.

Hakyeon checked his watch and swore: it was almost one a.m.  
“I should go and let you rest.”  
He made to leave, but Taekwoon pulled him close again: “Will you be back?”  
Hakyeon smiled, kissing him one last time: “Of course, you dumbass. I’ll be back every day. I love you.” he whispered against Taekwoon’s lips before pulling back and leaving the room.

\-------------------

“So what happened to the killer?” Taekwoon asked before biting into his apple slice.  
Hakyeon sighed as he finished peeling the rest of the fruit: “He’s the vice-president of a big company in this city. Looks like his childhood dream was to become the new Picasso or something, but he was expelled from more than one art school when he was young because of his… rather creepy views on art. I think you can get what I mean.” he slid a glance at Taekwoon before resuming his explanation: “He’s very rich, but we have solid evidence and I know many lawyers refused to take his defence. He’ll spend the rest of his life in jail.”

Taekwoon nodded, stuffed the rest of the apple slice into his mouth and motioned to Hakyeon for more.  
Hakyeon huffed and swatted his hand away: “I’m not your maid, wait till I’m finished.”  
Taekwoon smiled, settled back more comfortably against the pillows and did as he was told.

\-------------------

Taekwoon was looking out of the window. He turned around when he heard Hakyeon come in and smiled at him.  
“Are you ready?”  
“Yeah. I don’t want to stay in this place any longer. I can’t believe I’ve been here for ten days.”  
“Does your wound still hurt?”  
Taekwoon raised his eyebrows, smirking: “No. It only hurt because you fell on me last night.”  
Hakyeon blushed: “Hey, I didn’t mean to! I apologized already, and besides… it wasn’t my idea to make out on your hospital bed.”  
Taekwoon smiled and pulled Hakyeon close: “Sorry… I’ve missed you.”  
“Me too. Let’s go home.”

\-------------------

Taekwoon let his duffle bag fall on the floor and shuffled inside his apartment, sighing in contentment.  
“Go take a shower, I’ll make you something to eat.” Hakyeon smiled as he pulled up his sleeves and walked to the kitchen.

\-------------------

“Smells good.” Taekwoon murmured as he hugged Hakyeon from behind, his chin resting on his shoulder.  
“Just some plain chicken soup, sorry I’m not the best of cooks.”  
Hakyeon turned off the stove and moved to the side to get a plate, but Taekwoon spun him around and pinned him against the counter.

Hakyeon groaned as Taekwoon kissed him hard, biting his lower lip and pushing his tongue in his mouth.  
“Taekwoon…” he moaned as the other man pressed their bodies together, and he could feel Taekwoon’s half-hard cock against his hip through the fabric of his gym pants.  
“I want you Hakyeon. So bad.” Taekwoon murmured as he kissed along Hakyeon’s jaw.  
Hakyeon half-sighed, half-moaned: “Me too. But your wound…”  
“I’ll be fine, I won’t break.”  
Hakyeon stepped back and cupped Taekwoon’s face with one hand, a grin on his lips: “I’m going to shower real quick if you don’t mind, I’ve been at the station since this morning.”

Later, Hakyeon stepped inside the bedroom wearing only a towel around his waist, skin and hair still damp.  
Taekwoon was sitting on the edge of his bed. He hooked his arm around Hakyeon’s waist as he got near and pulled him close, resting his forehead on his stomach.  
“I missed you so much… you’re so beautiful.” Taekwoon whispered as Hakyeon tangled his fingers through his hair.

After a few seconds spent in silence, just holding each other, Hakyeon pulled Taekwoon to his feet. He grabbed the hem of Taekwoon’s t-shirt and pulled it over his head and off, then pushed both his pants and boxers down his thighs and watched them fall to the floor before untying the towel still around his hips.  
He placed a hand on Taekwoon’s chest and guided him back on the bed, climbing on it after him, straddling him when Taekwoon finally laid his head on the pillows.

Hakyeon looked at the bandages on the left side of Taekwoon’s stomach and frowned.  
“I’m so sorry, it’s going to scar.” he murmured as he brushed his fingers over the wound.  
“It’s ok, I’ve told you already.”

Taekwoon grabbed Hakyeon’s waist and tried to flip them over, but Hakyeon smiled and stopped him: “Let me take care of you.”  
He leaned down and kissed Taekwoon deeply, slowly, trying to convey all the things he wasn’t able to say out loud.

He then moved to kiss along Taekwoon’s jaw and neck down to his chest, his hands roaming over the warm skin.  
“I missed this…” he murmured over Taekwoon’s stomach.

Hakyeon wrapped his fingers around Taekwoon’s cock and stroked it a few times before mouthing along the shaft starting from the base right up to the tip, where he ended with a quick kiss.  
He finally sucked the head in his mouth and swirled his tongue around it. He took it in slowly, humming, before pulling back completely.  
He repeated all this two, three times, never increasing his pace, pinning Taekwoon’s hips down to the bed when they jerked upwards, desperate for more.

Taekwoon groaned, grabbed fistfuls of black hair and pulled: “Stop teasing!”  
Hakyeon tried to stifle a laugh but failed, and almost choked on Taekwoon’s cock.   
He released it from his mouth with a wet _plop_ and grinned at the man glaring down at him: “Jung Taekwoon, are you _whining_?”

Taekwoon didn’t reply but glared even more, if that was even possible.   
Hakyeon laughed and crawled back over Taekwoon’s body to kiss him before reaching into the nightstand drawer for the bottle of lube he knew he’d find there.  
He poured some on his fingers and reached behind him to quickly prepare himself, eyebrows slightly furrowed.  
Taekwoon licked his lips, unable to take his eyes off him: “Hakyeon… slow down…”  
“No.” Hakyeon replied, taking his fingers away and coating Taekwoon’s cock.   
“I can take this, I need this.” he went on, slowly lowering himself on his lover’s lap, the stretch uncomfortable but not unbearable.

Hakyeon closed his eyes and stood still for a few seconds, adjusting to the feeling..  
When he felt he could move he lifted his hips, Taekwoon’s cock sliding almost all out: “I tried to forget you.” He sat back down, making both of them gasp: “But I just couldn’t.”  
“I’m glad you didn’t.” Taekwoon murmured as he placed his hands on Hakyeon’s thighs and tilted his hips upward.  
Hakyeon closed his eyes and moaned. He ground his hips in a circle, Taekwoon’s cock buried inside him, and got a low groan in response.  
He smiled and did it again, setting up a slow but steady rhythm that made Taekwoon tighten his grip on his thighs.

“You’re truly breathtaking.” Hakyeon whispered, panting slightly. His hand roamed over Taekwoon’s broad chest, then he leaned down to kiss him.  
“I’m sorry I lied to you.” Taekwoon told him when they broke the kiss.  
Hakyeon nipped at Taekwoon’s lower lip: “You’re forgiven. But next time…”  
“There won’t be a next time, I promise.”

Taekwoon hooked his arm around Hakyeon’s waist and took that chance to flip them over despite the other man’s complaints.  
“Taekwoon! Your wound…!”  
“I won’t break Hakyeon. Not unless you want me to fuck you through the mattress.”  
Taekwoon punctuated his words with a sharp jerk of his hips and Hakyeon hissed: “Maybe… next time.”  
Taekwoon chuckled and dipped his head to steal another kiss while Hakyeon wrapped his legs around him.

He started rocking into Hakyeon in slow languid thrusts, kissing a trail from Hakyeon’s ear to his jaw and further down his neck.  
Hakyeon’s hand snaked down to his cock, fingers closing around it and stroking it in time with Taekwoon’s movements, while his other hand found Taekwoon’s and laced their fingers together.

Taekwoon shifted on the bed, brushing Hakyeon’s prostate and making him moan loud, but he kept a slow rhythm on purpose, not fast enough to send him off the edge but slow enough to drive him crazy with want.  
“Who’s teasing now…” Hakyeon groaned, and Taekwoon grinned, this time slamming into him.

He rocked his hips in long, hard thrusts now, Hakyeon writhing and mewling underneath him.  
Hakyeon tightened his legs around Taekwoon, bringing him closer, when he felt his lover’s hips begin to falter. The pulls on his cock became faster, trying to keep up with the pace.  
“I want to come with you.” he gasped before lifting his head and kissing Taekwoon deeply, hungrily.

They were still kissing when Hakyeon moaned in Taekwoon’s mouth and came.  
Taekwoon pushed into him fast a couple more times and then stilled, riding his orgasm out and falling on top of Hakyeon.

He lay like this, listening to their heavy breaths till they went back to normal, then he gently pulled out and flipped over on the bed.  
He closed his eyes and heard Hakyeon get up and walk over to the bathroom. When he came back, he let him clean him up, pulling him down for a kiss before slipping under the blankets.

Hakyeon turned to face away from Taekwoon, head resting on his lover’s arm and back pressed against his chest, Taekwoon’s other arm wrapped over Hakyeon’s middle.

“Hey.”  
“Hmm?”  
“No more poking around criminals from now on, understood? Don’t make me cuff you to the bed every time I leave home.”  
Taekwoon’s arm tightened around his waist, and Hakyeon could feel him smile against his skin: “Is that a promise?”  
Hakyeon turned around in the embrace and glared at him: “You jerk, I’m serious.”  
“Sorry, sorry, I know…” Taekwoon chuckled as he peppered Hakyeon’s face with small kisses. 

Before he fell asleep, Taekwoon thought that it wasn’t that bad after all, letting someone catch him. Not just someone though, it had to be Hakyeon. Hakyeon who, Taekwoon realized, caught him and wouldn’t let go since the first time they met.  
If it was Hakyeon, he would have no regrets. Ever


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this an alternate ending to the story, made in time for one of the past Halloween, enjoy~

Hakyeon stopped his car almost a block away from the dark warehouse. He had been to the other one already, and found nothing suspicious.  
He checked his gun and got out. The warehouse was fairly old, surrounded by empty buildings and even wasteland on one side.   
The perfect place if you wanted secrecy and didn’t want anyone to notice you coming or going.

He made his way to the building, the cloudy grey sky helping him to go unnoticed. He walked around the warehouse, looking for a way in other than the main door.  
He found it right at the back, when he tried a secondary door and it swung open.

Hakyeon furrowed his brows and un-holstered his gun, cautiously stepping in.  
The room turned out to be some sort of office, dark and silent, the only furnishing being a dusty desk and a cabinet pushed along a wall.  
Upon inspection, a door to the left was confirmed to lead into a small toiled, so Hakyeon carefully approached the only other way out of the room other than the one he just used.

He tried the handle, and the door opened quite silently, making only the faintest of sounds which echoed too loudly in the silence of the warehouse for Hakyeon’s liking, and he cursed under his breath.  
The place was empty, safe from a few crates and metallic shelves most probably left by the previous tenants.

Hakyeon walked in, gun in hand, making his way along the wall towards a stack of crates. He had just turned around it when he heard a rustling sound behind him.  
He spun around, gun aimed in front of him…

“Fuck!” he hissed as he lowered his weapon, “Do you want me to shoot you Taekwoon? What the fuck are you doing here?”  
Taekwoon took a step in his direction, glaring: “I could ask you the same, what are you thinking about, coming here alone?”  
“I told you not to get involved in this!”  
“Well, guess what, you’d better arrest me if you want me to leave.”  
“I swear to god, Jung Taekwoon…”  
Hakyeon stopped mid-sentence and both men froze as they heard a sudden noise coming from outside.

They ducked behind a crate as the main door at the other side of the warehouse squeaked open.  
A bulky man slowly walked in, with what looked like an unconscious body slung over his shoulder. He was limping slightly.  
He headed to a set of stairs half-hidden to his right and disappeared upstairs.

Hakyeon swore: “How the hell? How was he able to get another girl? What’s upstairs?”  
Taekwoon answered him, his normally soft voice taking a somewhat darker tone: “Rooms. They probably used to be offices. It’s where he keeps them. Some of those rooms… they’re not a nice sight.”

Hakyeon walked out of their hiding place and slowly walked towards the stairs.  
Taekwoon grabbed his arm and pulled him back: “Where the fuck are you going?” he whispered.  
“Go out and call Hongbin. I’m going to take a look upstairs.”  
“Don’t be stupid Hakyeon. We go out together, it’s dangerous. He won’t kill her right away, and we can wait for Hongbin to arrive.”

Hakyeon glared at Taekwoon, but after a few instants he gave up: “You’re right. Let’s go out.”  
Taekwoon let out a sigh of relief and turned, heading back to the ground-floor office.  
They walked in silence to the door. As soon as Taekwoon walked out though, he heard a ‘click’ and the door shut behind him.  
“Hakyeon!” he called out as he tried the door again, without success.

Now that Hakyeon was alone, he went back to the warehouse, this time heading straight for the stairs.  
He ducked behind a stack of crates when he heard the killer talking to himself upstairs. He couldn’t make out the words, but he could hear him moving. Eventually, his shuffling became nearer, and Hakyeon could see his back as he slowly walked down the stairs and left through the front door.

Hakyeon waited a couple of seconds to make sure he wasn’t coming back, then sprinted for the stairs.  
The space was divided into small rooms with a central corridor. The air smelled faintly of the sickly sweet smell of blood and disinfectants.

The first room he checked was the most disturbing: it contained just a table and a few shelves, but on it Hakyeon could see some razors and other bigger blades. On a corner, coils of rope and some duct tape.  
Hakyeon quickly checked all the other rooms. They all had the same furnishing: a bed with a simple mattress. Some of the rooms had dark stains blotting both mattresses and walls in various degrees, other were perfectly clean. Thankfully, they were all empty.

Only one was left, Hakyeon pushed the door open and saw the girl that the man brought here before. She was tied to the bed, a rag used as a gag.  
He rushed to her side, and checked her pulse. He knew she must be alive, or he wouldn’t have kept her.  
He was trying to wake her up when everything went black…

\-------------------

“Hakyeon! Hakyeon! Wake up!”  
Hakyeon opened his eyes and slowly focused on the worried face of Taekwoon looking at him.  
“Taekwoon? What… ouch!” he tried to move but a throbbing pain at the back of his head held him back.  
Taekwoon scoffed and cut the ropes around Hakyeon’s wrists and ankles.

“How did you get in?” he asked as he rubbed his wrists.  
“Why do you think the back door was open when you arrived?”   
Hakyeon was sure he could feel Taekwoon’s glare even if he wasn’t looking at him.  
“Thank you. The girl…”  
“She’s safe for now. I’ve called Hongbin, he’s on his way. Let’s get out of here.”

Taekwoon pulled Hakyeon up on his feet, handed him his gun and walked to the stairs. They were in one of the empty rooms on the first floor, and Hakyeon thanked whatever god was out there it was a clean one.

“We need to be quick.” Taekwoon warned him. He was already at the bottom of the stairs: “I lured him out by making some noise, but he won’t-”  
Taekwoon froze as he reached the concrete floor.  
“What’s wrong?” Hakyeon asked, moving closer, eyes darting to the door and the sides of the warehouse, checking for possible threats. “Did you hear something?”

Taekwoon spun around and wrapped his arm around Hakyeon’s shoulder, kissing him.  
Hakyeon’s eyes went wide as a searing pain spread in his stomach.   
“Taek… woon?” he whispered as he tried to push the other man away.  
Taekwoon took half a step back, freeing his knife and then plunging it again into Hakyeon. And again.

Hakyeon felt his legs give and he slumped to the floor, hands clutching his stomach, trying to stop the blood from pouring out.  
“...why?” he asked as he looked into Taekwoon’s cold eyes.  
Taekwoon knelt beside Hakyeon and sighed: “It was such a pain to get you here, right where I wanted…”

Hakyeon eyes shifted from Taekwoon’s face to somewhere behind him, and Taekwoon turned around to see what had caught his attention: the man who brought the girl in earlier was getting closer.  
“Why is he still alive?” he asked Taekwoon.  
“You don’t get to tell me what I should or shouldn’t do.”  
“I apologize. But… you could have killed him upstairs.”  
“He’ll die soon enough, I’m just having some fun. Only fair I tell him _why_ he’s dying, no?”

Taekwoon searched Hakyeon’s clothes and took his gun and phone away.  
“I trusted you.” Hakyeon murmured, blood filling his mouth.  
“I know, that was the point.” Taekwoon grinned. It wasn’t a pleasant sight. “You still haven’t got it, have you?”  
Hakyeon frowned, then looked back to the limping man: “Why… do you protect him?”  
Taekwoon chuckled: “Protect him? Oh no, he’s just an idiot. He wanted to be like me, but all he’s done was to leave evidence for the police to find. For _you_ to find.”  
“But you… the jewels…”  
“The jewels are just pretty trinkets I started collecting when I grew tired of crying girls.” Taekwoon’s voice had an almost bored tone to it. He swiped his finger - gloved, Hakyeon noticed just now - along Hakyeon’s jaw: “Remember when you told me you suspected a serial killer? Well, hun, you never even got close to knowing how many girls I took before we met that night… _I_ never left much evidence, unlike some copycat.”

Hakyeon’s eyes widened, and Taekwoon grinned again: “Yes. I knew who you were. And that you were working on that case. I thought it would be more difficult to get you interested, to be honest. I can’t complain though, the sex was great.”  
Hakyeon groaned and lay on the concrete floor, his strength leaving him: “Bastard…”  
Taekwoon laughed: “Yes. But don’t worry. He’s too messy, he’ll stop. Or he’ll have to answer to me.” 

He turned serious again and stood, eyes still fixed on Hakyeon: “I don’t want to be caught because of him. Once you’re dead, I’ll move. Another city, another life. Maybe a few more girls will disappear now that you’ve taken my other hobby away…”  
“Hongbin will get you…” Hakyeon whispered. He couldn’t even lift his head now.  
“Your dear partner will be dealt with soon. You’ll see him in whatever afterlife dumb policemen go to.”

He rolled his shoulders and sighed, then gripped the gun tighter, aiming at Hakyeon’s head: “This is getting boring.”  
Hakyeon closed his eyes.  
“Goodbye, love.” Taekwoon whispered as a loud bang echoed in the warehouse.


End file.
